The Trust’s Van Lier program will award grants to a small number of nonprofit organizations to provide fellowships to young artists between the ages of 6 and 18 who reside in New York City.
Donor Name: The New York Community Trust
State: New York
Boroughs: Bronx, Brooklyn, New York City, Queens, Staten Island
Type of Grant: Fellowship
Deadline: 05/08/2026
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
The primary goal of the program is to help fellowship recipients achieve a significant professional credit that is likely to lead to future career opportunities. Funds may be used to support or expand an existing initiative or to start a new program. Highest priority will be given to groups serving artists from historically underrepresented backgrounds (e.g., those historically excluded on the basis of race or ethnicity, disability, and/or gender).
Funding Information
Grants will extend for a period of two or three years and will not exceed $150,000 per organization ($75,000 per year for two years, or $50,000 per year for three years). The Trust will not support an agency’s Van Lier fellowship program for more than six consecutive years. Applicants must request support for at least two fellows, and they may request a maximum of $25,000 per fellow, per year.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for Van Lier funding, fellowship programs must:
- Help young people ages 6 to 18 pursue the study of one or more arts disciplines (e.g., dance, filmmaking, theater, music, visual arts).
- Provide recipients with artistic training and related services (e.g., opportunities to perform, exhibit, and/or publish artistic work; assistance applying to competitive high school and college arts programs).
- Recruit and select fellowship recipients, monitor artists’ progress over the term of the fellowship, and track their subsequent professional development.
- Be located in, and primarily take place within, New York City’s five boroughs.
For more information, visit The New York Community Trust.
